Everyone wears clothing. From an economist's perspective, clothing is one of the best markets to be in because everyone takes part in fashion. This means that each year people buy more and more new clothing, discarding old clothing in various ways such as the regular garbage removal services or sometimes donation services. The problem is that with the rise in popularity of synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, as well as more industrial clothing production methods, the clothing system is no longer sustainable and there are a slew of socio-environmental issues as a result of this production.
Jeans are an excellent example of our clothing system because of their popularity in the United States – about 450 million pairs are sold here every year. The process behind making a pair of jeans however is incredibly taxing to the environment. To start, 1,500 gallons of water are used to make the 1.5 pounds of cotton that contribute to a pair of jeans. More water is still used in the dying, washing, and finishing processes. There are also large amounts of chemical pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers used, most of which are made using oil or other energy-intensive processes. Synthetic dyes made to mimic the look of the natural indigo dye are used to dye the jeans. These synthetic dyes are made from coal or oil, and are commonly dumped in local waterways where the chemicals will kill aquatic life as well as local agriculture. As you can see, not only are thousands of gallons of water required to make a single pair of jeans, but almost every step requires the use of oil or another equivalent fossil fuel.
The Implications
Most of today's clothing travels halfway around the world in its transition from fiber to textile to clothing to consumer. Combined with oil-intensive production methods our clothes in the end require enormous amounts of fuel, energy, and water. This coupled with our quick rate of change in fashion results in an unsustainable clothing system which cannot continue. It is clear that we must move away from oil and intensive crops like oil. However corporate clothing companies are slow to recognize this. The Director of the Boards of Gap Inc. stated in an article called “Climate Change, Blue Jeans, and Jobs” that the Gap is trying to move toward clean energy and waste reduction as a source for new jobs and a fix for the environment, yet he doesn't mention anything about moving away from cotton or any of the chemicals or synthetic fibers. This simply highlights that the problem is bigger than fixing just one piece of the system, it is the entire way that we design, produce, distribute, and discard clothing that needs fixing.
The Solutions
Potential solutions for this problem lead to a matrix of complications in which there are arguments for every side. Eco-friendly lines of clothing offer textiles made from sustainable materials such as hemp, however these companies can still use conventional methods of production and dying which require the use of oil. Also, eco-friendly clothing still travels long distances from crop to textile to production to a distribution center and eventually to the consumer whether they buy it directly in the store or it is shipped to them. So then a solution to this would be to only buy locally-made clothing, made of organic cotton or another natural fiber, if possible. Some would argue against this as it takes the clothing market away from developing countries where it can stimulate the economy, but it seems that buying local would solve a lot of the energy-consumption problems which make up a large part of the pollution related to clothing.
One final solution is the easiest and cheapest: reuse or recycle your clothing for as long as possible, and when done with it donate it to an organization that will make use of it.
Why Worry About Your Clothing?
The Problem
Everyone wears clothing. From an economist's perspective, clothing is one of the best markets to be in because everyone takes part in fashion. This means that each year people buy more and more new clothing, discarding old clothing in various ways such as the regular garbage removal services or sometimes donation services. The problem is that with the rise in popularity of synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, as well as more industrial clothing production methods, the clothing system is no longer sustainable and there are a slew of socio-environmental issues as a result of this production.Jeans are an excellent example of our clothing system because of their popularity in the United States – about 450 million pairs are sold here every year. The process behind making a pair of jeans however is incredibly taxing to the environment. To start, 1,500 gallons of water are used to make the 1.5 pounds of cotton that contribute to a pair of jeans. More water is still used in the dying, washing, and finishing processes. There are also large amounts of chemical pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers used, most of which are made using oil or other energy-intensive processes. Synthetic dyes made to mimic the look of the natural indigo dye are used to dye the jeans. These synthetic dyes are made from coal or oil, and are commonly dumped in local waterways where the chemicals will kill aquatic life as well as local agriculture. As you can see, not only are thousands of gallons of water required to make a single pair of jeans, but almost every step requires the use of oil or another equivalent fossil fuel.
The Implications
Most of today's clothing travels halfway around the world in its transition from fiber to textile to clothing to consumer. Combined with oil-intensive production methods our clothes in the end require enormous amounts of fuel, energy, and water. This coupled with our quick rate of change in fashion results in an unsustainable clothing system which cannot continue. It is clear that we must move away from oil and intensive crops like oil. However corporate clothing companies are slow to recognize this. The Director of the Boards of Gap Inc. stated in an article called “Climate Change, Blue Jeans, and Jobs” that the Gap is trying to move toward clean energy and waste reduction as a source for new jobs and a fix for the environment, yet he doesn't mention anything about moving away from cotton or any of the chemicals or synthetic fibers. This simply highlights that the problem is bigger than fixing just one piece of the system, it is the entire way that we design, produce, distribute, and discard clothing that needs fixing.The Solutions
Potential solutions for this problem lead to a matrix of complications in which there are arguments for every side. Eco-friendly lines of clothing offer textiles made from sustainable materials such as hemp, however these companies can still use conventional methods of production and dying which require the use of oil. Also, eco-friendly clothing still travels long distances from crop to textile to production to a distribution center and eventually to the consumer whether they buy it directly in the store or it is shipped to them. So then a solution to this would be to only buy locally-made clothing, made of organic cotton or another natural fiber, if possible. Some would argue against this as it takes the clothing market away from developing countries where it can stimulate the economy, but it seems that buying local would solve a lot of the energy-consumption problems which make up a large part of the pollution related to clothing.One final solution is the easiest and cheapest: reuse or recycle your clothing for as long as possible, and when done with it donate it to an organization that will make use of it.
Sources
“Well Dressed?” University of Cambridge 2006. http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/sustainability/projects/mass/UK_textiles.pdfGlausiusz, Josie. “How Green Are Your Jeans?” http://www.onearth.org/article/how-green-are-your-jeans
Claudio, Luz. “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1964887/
“Environmental impacts of clothing” Green Choices 2010. http://www.greenchoices.org/index.php/impacts-2
Fisher, Bob. “Climate Change, Blue Jeans, and Jobs” The Huffington Post 2010. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-fisher/climate-change-blue-jeans_b_557485.html
Vezzoli, Carlo. “Clothing Care in the Sustainable Household” http://gin.confex.com/gin/archives/1998/papers/vezzoli.pdf
Challa, Lakshmi. “Impact of Textiles and Clothing Industry on Environment: Approach Towards Eco-Friendly Textiles” http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/textile-industry-articles/impact-of-textiles-and-clothing-industry-on-environment/impact-of-textiles-and-clothing-industry-on-environment1.asp
Images
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